The Alternate Root
5 FOLLOWERS
The Alternate Root began when three music business veterans, Bill Hurley, Fred Boenig, and Danny McCloskey, saw a need for Roots music to have the same advantages as the industry gave to Pop acts in the Top40 marketplace. Discover Roots & Americana Music with our reviews of music and artists in here.
The Alternate Root
6d ago
Scott H Biram (from the album The One and Only Scott H Biram available on Bloodshot Records) (by Bryant Liggett) Scott H. Biram is a bad-ass. Any review of any of his albums should start with that sentence since he is a musician who, whether on stage or in studio, plays like it’s his last night on earth. As Biram throws down a hard hand of Heavy Metal and loud Rock into his spitting vocal, power-chord, and string-breaking brand of dirty Blues on his latest, The One and Only Scott H. Biram , he is also tossing out more proof-positive of the aforementioned bad-assness. A rough riff backed by pow ..read more
The Alternate Root
6d ago
The Glass Hours (from the album The Glass Hours available on Cornelius Chapel Records) (by Bryant Liggett) As The Glass Hours, Megan Barbera and Brad Armstrong strike Folk duo gold. While the two have a past of solo ventures, it is their voices that were meant to support each other and ring out side by side. Which is what they do on their self-titled , a stellar showcase of harmony delivered in soft and hushed tones that are quiet and quaint. The opening track treads into twang territory thanks to guitar fills, with Armstrong taking the first verse, Barbera the next. It’s a narrative about two ..read more
The Alternate Root
6d ago
The Coal Men (from the album Everett available on Vaskaleedez Records) (by Lee Zimmerman) With a collective career that will mark 25 years this coming August, it’s little surprise that The Coal Men — Dave Coleman (guitar and vocals), Dave Ray (drums and backing vocals), and Paul Silken (bass) — come across as so assured and cohesive straight from the get-go. The trio’s new album, , finds the band solidly in sync, while also benefiting from occasional keyboard contributions from Jen Gunderman of The Jayhawks, piano tuner Lane Kiefling, and Coleman himself, all playing — what else? — an Everett ..read more
The Alternate Root
6d ago
Ted Russell Kamp (from the album California Sun on KZZ Records/Blue Elan) (by Lee Zimmerman) Suffice it to say, Ted Russell Kamp fits the exact definition of a true multi-tasker. Given his day job as musical director of the Shooter Jennings Band, and his well-regarded reputation as a producer and sideman to any number of A level artists, — Tanya Tucker, Whitey Morgan and Jessi Colter, among them — it’s somewhat remarkable that he also managed to put out a dozen albums of his own over the course of more than 25 years. Nevertheless, Kamp opted to take his time while working on , allowing the mus ..read more
The Alternate Root
6d ago
Wonder Women of Country (from the EP Willis, Carper, Leigh available on Bismeaux Records) (by Danny McCloskey) Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh scratch their names on the title for the recent EP. Trading in capes for capos the trio deliver a debut EP as the Wonder Women of Country with the recent release . The love of Classic Country brought them together, Melissa Carper recalling ‘Brennen and I got together back in 2019 to write a song about our love for old Country music. When we first met each other, in 2009, we realized we shared a lot of the same influences such as Jimmie R ..read more
The Alternate Root
6d ago
Hurray for the Riff Raff (from the album The Past Is Still Alive available on Nonesuch Records (by Lee Zimmerman) Hurray for the Riff Raff have always seemed like a band stuck between two worlds, that of indie Americana versus a more expansive realm of prescient progressive posturing. Nowhere has that been more evident than on their latest opus, , an album that frequently begs the question of how to reconcile today’s current reality with the wistful notions that linger in the afterglow of past precepts. When singer Alynda Segarra declares ‘I used to think I was born into the wrong generation ..read more
The Alternate Root
2w ago
Loreena McKennitt (from the album The Road Back Home (live) available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey) Contemporary Celtic musician Loreena McKennitt took her music to Ontario, Canada for the recording of her recent release, . Performed at four Canadian Folk festivals, was recorded in the summer of 2023. Her voice a force-of-nature, Loreena McKennitt is a leader in the Celtic Music scene, continuing to push the borders of the genre out while she honors both traditions and the artists that hones the craft. Of the album’s ten tracks, a few of the songs can trace lineage back to Loreena’s ..read more
The Alternate Root
2w ago
Alex Jordan (from the album Queen Kerosene available on Alexander James Jordan Records) A ready and reliable sideman who’s earned his musical stripes with any number of ongoing outfits, Alex Jordan has come into his own with the fiery , an album that infuses an easy-going sound with a well-stocked variety of rootsy references. Produced by Steve Berlin (a key member of the band Los Lobos) it veers from the relentless Rock of the title track to the easy embrace of “Blue”, a song originally shared by The Jayhawks. Aided and abetted by singer Carrie Rodriguez, accordion player Josh Baca (the prote ..read more
The Alternate Root
2w ago
Dori Freeman (from the album Do You Recall available on Blue Hens Music) (by Lee Zimmerman) Dori Freeman has shaped a sound synonymous with her Appalachian origins over the course of her five studio albums, sharing homespun sentiments and down-home designs flush with easy accessibility. doesn’t veer decidedly from that singular stance, but it does expand the template to a certain extent, sharing songs that are somewhat broader in scope and melodies that find a fit with mainstream Americana. Produced by Teddy Thompson, and given the help and support of her husband and drummer Nicholas Falk, the ..read more
The Alternate Root
2w ago
Sultans of String (from the album Walking Through the Fire available as a self-release) (by Bryant Liggett) On their recent release, Sultans of String dig on musical traditions as they also contemporize the past for the right now. The balance has landed them in a best of both worlds situation as they are making ‘traditional’ music of native peoples in its most original meaning, as in the sounds made by the America’s first occupants. Combine that with today’s Americana and you’ve got , an album that is respectful nod to the past with a hearty dose of the present. “A Beautiful Darkness” is an al ..read more